


young love is beautiful

by loveandhope



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Attempt at Humor, Dorks in Love, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Good Uchiha Obito, Happy Ending, Hatake Kakashi-centric, Humor, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Idiots in Love, M/M, Protective Hatake Kakashi, Romantic Fluff, Team Bonding, Team Minato-centric, Team as Family, Uchiha Obito Lives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:48:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27421465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loveandhope/pseuds/loveandhope
Summary: If Rin ever needed to describe Kakashi and Obito in a few words, she would totally go with dorks in love, while Minato-sensei, watching as one of his two male students was struggling with not being able to express his own feelings correctly and the other one being impossibly dense in everything, agreed with her completely and absolutely shamelessly.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi & Namikaze Minato & Nohara Rin & Uchiha Obito, Hatake Kakashi/Uchiha Obito
Comments: 12
Kudos: 208





	young love is beautiful

**Author's Note:**

> canon makes me cry, so, ya know, FUCK CANON  
> i just want to see them happy, so this story is literally some mix of pure fluff, love and humor, i hope you will like it! by the way please tell me if you don't like something, i appreciate criticism just as much as compliments :D

If Rin ever needed to describe Kakashi and Obito in a few words, she would totally go with dorks in love, while Minato-sensei, watching as one of his two male students was struggling with not being able to express his own feelings correctly and the other one being impossibly oblivious to everything, agreed with her completely and absolutely shamelessly. 

The first time Minato noticed one subtle hint of some connection between his students, was at the end of their routine training. Dusk was approaching; Minato and Obito were sitting on one of the fallen logs, recuperating after sparring, and Rin was sitting on the grass not far from them, meditating and concentrating her chakra. Kakashi in the distance near a line of trees continued to train taijutsu while using the fire element. Obito had been watching him intently for the past ten minutes, frowning slightly and apparently oblivious to everything around him; his mouth slightly open, and his hands, dusty and tense, were propped up on his chin. Minato could understand him - Kakashi was amazing in action; he was a Jounin, with amazing skills and abilities, strength and intelligence, being successful and impressive enough to gradually and inevitably become famous among many people even far from Konoha. And even though Obito himself wasn’t weak, especially with the advantage of not needing ordinary human needs like food or sleep, being able to dematerialize and use Makyuton, he always looked at Kakashi as the perfect ninja to look up to in everything.

Deep down, Minato was really happy to have his own team, his children, whom he helped to get on their feet from a fairly early age, supporting and mentoring them in everything. He was happy to be their teacher and mentor, and he loved being their Sensei. 

Another powerful explosion rang out from the side of the training student, then a series of blows came, and Minato shifted his soft gaze to the Uchiha, whose mesmerized eyes were fixed on Hatake.

“I'm so gay”, Obito breathed out suddenly.

Minato choked. 

Out of the corner of his eye, struggling with shock and his own suffocation, he saw Rin's eyes suddenly snap open, staring blankly in front of her with a vague expression on her face which couldn’t be deciphered - no matter how much Minato prided himself on his ability to read other people's emotions - then took a deep breath and, to Minato's deep surprise, smiled knowingly and caring, then returned to her meditation, completely satisfied. It was at this point when Minato realized that Obito wasn't waiting for an answer. He didn’t blush; there was no reaction to his own words as he continued to look at Kakashi more furtively, completely absorbed in himself and oblivious to everything that was around him.

Well, if before the main problem Minato as their Sensei was the need to separate the boys after another dispute, trying to make them understand each other, to get closer as a team, now everything became a little different.

Minato risked taking another glance in the young Uchiha's direction; of course, fifteen years old wasn't considered as real grown-ups, even if they had been legally adults for several years already by ninja standards. Both Kakashi and Obito were quite tall for their age, when as Rin, on the contrary, didn’t go far from the height of the twelve-year-old herself, although, in any case, it suited her. 

Minato mentally slapped himself for not even thinking about the romantic part of the teenage life before. 

They still remained children to him.

They had friends - Gai, Kurenai, Asuma, and others - but the topic of love or any kind of attachment had never been raised before, or Minato didn't notice it at all, which was Minato's biggest disappointment in himself right now. 

Of course, for some time Obito thought he had a crush on Rin, but soon enough he realized it was more like sibling’s love, so Minato didn’t count it.

He felt that at the moment he was completely buried in his thoughts, probably going much further in his musings because of what had happened than would be considered adequate in decent society. But Minato needed to go back to his memories to find out how much he had overlooked. He wanted to be a part of his children's lives, he wanted to know his children, not just be a bystander or a mentor who cares about nothing but endless trainings. He didn't realize that Rin had completely abandoned her meditation, absorbed in Obito's sudden confession and memories just like Minato.

Rin was grinning to herself like a madwoman. In fact, poor Obito didn't say anything that she didn't already know, to be honest, but in any case, the Uchiha's realization was a new step.

She began to suspect something from the moment Kakashi broke down from Obito's constant taunts about the height difference - which was ironic, since only a couple of years later Kakashi was already taller than Obito, even if only slightly, but the fact is the fact.

That day Rin watched as in slow motion as Obito made one snide remark, another sneer, and the next moment Kakashi knocked him down with a kick to the boy’s ankles, making him hit the ground with his back, and loomed over him threateningly, looking haughty and proud. Obito didn't even have time to blink, as before his eyes, covering almost the entire sky and the trees above them, as if suppressing them, Kakashi's face appeared, calm and confident, and Obito blushed without even realizing it. Rin didn't hear Kakashi's retort anymore, busy holding back the giggles because of Obito’s violently red cheeks, and at the next moment Minato emerged, separating them. When Rin looked back at her teammates, they were wearing their usual mask of displeasure and mild annoyance.

”Why were you guys fighting again?”, asked Minato-Sensei with the sincere concern on his face, as Obito pouted and Kakashi crossed his arms on his chest and shrugged:

”Obito just being stupid again”, he said firmly, closing his eyes and paying absolutely no attention at the raising fury in the Uchiha’s face, “you height doesn’t make you a better ninja, and definitely not gonna save your life if you won’t even be able to learn how to simply strike kunai correctly, you dumbass.”

Minato sighed deeply, looking how at the same second Obito opens his mouth, visibly offended, while Rin obliviously to others was trying to figure out if she imagined something more during their fight. She gazed at them deviously. 

It took her about a month of close observation to be sure, though it was all decided just by one lucky occasion.

Minato was about to treat his team at Ichiraku's when he was unexpectedly summoned to the Hokage. The children agreed to wait for him, since according to the ANBU saying, who was the messenger, it wasn't supposed to take long. Thus, Kakashi sat silently on the bench, hiding his face behind a book, while Obito was struggling with boredom for a long time, not knowing what to do until eventually fell asleep. Rin noticed Kurenai not far away and went to greet her.

Kakashi with great difficulty and patience held back his irritation at the loud snuffling of the Uchiha next to his ear. At least, that's what it looked like from the outside. Kakashi once again allowed himself to squint at Obito, who was already sleeping on his shoulder. He was so close. Kakashi stopped breathing and froze when Obito's head touched his shoulder and the first saliva flowed onto his clothes. For lack of better ideas Kakashi simply continued staring at him, barely noticing the text of the book and listening to his own wildly beating heart; Obito was sleeping on his shoulder and he was so close that his breath almost touched Kakashi’s neck. He squinted at Obito’s hand, noticing that his own hand was resting very close, almost touching it. Kakashi swallowed, feeling his head begin to spin from the strain, and slowly, with a soft and barely perceptible movement intertwined their fingers. The sensations were extraordinary. Kakashi felt an idiotic smile spreading under the mask against his will, thinking that he would be glad to sit like this for days, holding hands with Obito even risking the fact that the boy might wake up at any moment.

“Oh, Minato-Sensei is coming!”

Kakashi jerked on the spot so hard that he instinctively jumped to his feet, pushing Obito to the ground. Kakashi straightened up his back, feeling cold sweat and a sense of being trapped, like during a bad mission. Obito rolled in the mud, trying to figure out what had happened, and cursed furiously.

Minato did actually approach as Rin announced, quickening his pace at the sound of another skirmish between his students. Then Obito finally gathered his thoughts and glared at Kakashi with a distraught and disbelieving look.

”Are you out of your mind?!”, he exclaimed, quickly getting on his feelt “What the hell was that?!”

Kakashi felt several glaring, expectant eyes on him, including Minato-Sensei's, who was trying to figure out what had happened while he was gone. Kakashi did his best to look nonchalantly.

”You were drooling on me”, he said.

Silence.

A few seconds passed, and Obito looked like he was about to explode.

”What?!”, Minato winced at the loud exclamation and sighed heavily, very heavily. “Are you crazy?! Just because I accidentally fell asleep next to you doesn't mean you can just push me to the ground, asshole! What is wrong with you?!”

Minato felt like he was getting a little old for all of that, even he was only about thirty, but Kami, how old he was feeling. He looked at the youngest member of the team, trying to understand him then ruffled his silver hair slightly, gazing at him seriously and a little bit sad.

“Kakashi, that’s not the right way to deal with something you don’t like, you could have just wake him up by calling his name, but not scaring and pushing him from the bench”, Minato knew Kakashi didn’t like then he was scolded like that, like some kind of 5 years old to his view – even if the action indeed looked like something what would an actual 5 year old do - but he needed him to understand. Kakashi hated the fact that others saw him as an arrogant bastard, but in any case, it was better than the truth. It seemed to Kakashi that even under the threat of death he wouldn’t be ready to say what he really felt inside. Most likely, he would have died on the spot if he had known that Rin and Kurenai had seen everything. Both girls exchanged their glances, now knowing everything; as they knew that was only the beginning.

And everything became just better.

Of course, after a while, Kurenai told Asuma about everything, and Rin barely kept Asuma from telling Gai about it, because there was obviously no way of stopping him from going immediately congratulate Kakashi with his first crush. Anyway with how the things were going they decided that with time Gai will figure everything out by himself anyway. 

One lucky day Asuma spotted Kakashi running on the roofs. 

With a bunch of flowers in his hand. Which he unsuccessfully was trying to hide. 

Asuma's eyes lit up like hell at the same time as he called for the others to follow Kakashi immediately. Thus, Rin, Kurenai and Asuma with the suppressed chakra - hidden presence - found themselves deep in the trees, with a sinking heart and breath, watching as Kakashi staggered towards Obito, who was warming up on the empty training ground.

Trying not to be discovered, they could hardly contain their excitement and listen to their conversation.

Obito looked up in disbelief at Kakashi, who was approaching him a little hesitantly; it seemed strange to him, since Kakashi was the epitome of self-confidence most of the time. Obito stood up and noticed flowers in the silver boy’s hand, and his confusion only increased. Then Kakashi finally approached him and without saying anything handed him the bouquet. 

“What?”, Obito asked and blinked.

Kakashi was dying inside. He thought now that his idea was meant to fail, that is was stupid; he didn’t know what he was doing or why he was doing this, he couldn’t’ bring himself to say something, he was panicking, sweating and wanted to leave. 

Obito didn’t understand anything. He looked around slightly as if it could give him the answers, then slowly took the flowers, because Kakashi was still standing with reached out hands, and somewhat shyly asked:

“And, uh, what do you want me to do with it?”

Kakashi remained silent for a few long, awkward second.

“You’re stupid”, he said finally, “I need to go,” and disappeared at the same moment, leaving Obito overwhelmed and confused as ever. The black haired boy looked around again, the bewilderment visibly shown on his face.

”What was that?”, he asked himself quietly, as oblivious to him Kurenai was almost strangling Asuma while kind of shaking him at the same time because of the hellish mix of emotions they all felt right now. They all witnessed something incredible today. 

Obito was silent all the way home, guided only by pure instinct, his thoughts far away. At home he put the flowers on the kitchen table without thinking about the vase, and continued to look at them dumbly, just occasionally frowning or scratching his head time after time. Obito felt out of place. He was aware that he had overlooked something, that he had misunderstood something, that he hadn’t done something, and it was bugging him mercilessly. With all his heart he could feel his brain boiling slowly. Why did Kakashi give him the flowers? Was there some task or mission from Minato-Sensei related to this that he had forgot about? Someone asked Kakashi to send Obito flowers through him? Or did he want Obito to pass this bouquet to someone else? Even so, it wasn't Obito's fault that the flowers were now laying purposelessly in his house because all Kakashi said was a mediocre insult and an excuse to leave. Or did Kakashi expect him to understand him just like that? Then that way it was his worst possible idea. 

A new sudden thought found Obito with a complete lack of air in his lungs and the soul leaving his body. His eyes widened like a man who has lost his mind, and his throat went suddenly dry as he froze in the middle of the kitchen, uncertainly considering the possibility that Kakashi had just given him flowers. That he actually gave him – intentionally - a bouquet of flowers. As a sign of sympathy? Was it... flirting? Did this mean that Kakashi liked Obito? In a romantic way? 

A strangled, half-moaning sound of an indeterminate nature escaped Obito against his will. He slapped his cheeks sharply, forcing himself to come to his senses. It was a crazy idea, it couldn't be true. Someone as perfect as Kakashi would never be interested in someone like Obito. Stupid, clumsy, whiny Obito. Good job, Obito, he thought inwardly, weakly sitting on the floor, holding back tears. He wondered how he had managed to upset himself so much with his own thoughts, and viciously wiped his cheeks, getting rid of all traces of crying. He forbade himself to suffer because of Kakashi, and what kind of stupidity was that? He was thirteen, and he would be smarter than crying over some dumbass. Yes, Obito secretly admired him, but only as a ninja, and he absolutely wasn't going to wind up thinking about whether Kakashi liked him or not, because it was already obvious. Kakashi couldn't stand him. He couldn't stand him so much that he didn't even want to touch Obito, because even just a couple of days ago, during a mission, when Obito was walking by his side and accidentally touched his hand with his own, the gray haired boy jerked away from him, immediately turning his head away. It was offensive. Obito wondered if Kakashi really was that disgusted with him that even a light casual contact caused such a reaction. Obito didn't let on that day that it bothered him, and laughed it off. Sometimes he just didn’t understand Kakashi. 

Now Obito despairingly cursed himself for even allowing the idea that Kakashi was trying to court him. God, Obito was so pathetic. He rose abruptly to his feet and threw the bouquet away with a pang, intending on the next day to find out directly what was going on. This decision was added to the list of decisions that Obito regretted in his life. Kakashi hardly looked at him; Obito should have understood the hint and given up on this idea even then. However, he still asked what his action yesterday meant.

“Hm?”, Kakashi responded, sounding uncomprehending.

”The flowers. You gave me the flowers. Why?”, Obito struggled to remain calm. Kakashi blinked, not changing his expression even a bit. 

“What flowers?”

Okay, Obito had enough of his bullshit for today, but some sort of the bitter disappointment did not give him the strength to really get angry at him and yell.

“Whatever”, Obito said, feeling down and turning to leave. “Jerk.”

Obito didn't look back as he headed home, staying oblivious how Kakashi's eyes misted with sadness and how he hid his face heavily in his own hands, feeling like a real coward.

Minato didn't know how much time had passed, but it was Kakashi's voice calling his name that brought him back from his thoughts. Minato blinked several times, finding his students a step away from him, looking at him vaguely or with slight excitement.

“I said it’s late already so were about to head home”, Kakashi repeated himself, just breathing a little heavy after training.

”Oh, right”, Minato cleared his voice and stood up, stretching his shoulders slightly, “Sorry, I guess I spaced out for a while. You all did a great job today”, Minato said, starting to explain in more detail about all the mistakes and successes they have made during today's training, while feeling a little out of place. But before he could come to any thought about it at the end of his speech, everyone had already said goodbye to him and left.

Minato took a deep breath as he scanned the bright orange-pink sunset and headed for the only person he could think of and who would definitely be able to help him. Kushina.

At home, he kissed her tenderly, shared dinner with her, and a little awhile after she was the first to ask him if everything was all right; she put her hand on his cheek and smiled, looking into his eyes. Minato loved her so much.

“It’s nothing bad actually”, he said, “but I just started to realize that things are changing and my team are no longer children, but at least young adults I guess.”

"Stop being so dramatic, honey," she said softly, "Tell me what happened today?"

“Obito was staring at Kakashi, like ogling, and then suddenly confessed he’s gay. I didn’t say anything to him because it looked like he hadn’t even realized he said it out loud. And I don’t know, it might be stupid, but I was just wondering, do my kinds, uh, well, teens, know that they can ask me about anything? I mean, tell me everything, ask for advice or help? I was wondering if i missed something? Maybe I wasn’t there for them enough, because as they are getting older…”

“Minato, stop it”, she said, looking determined and serious, and Minato realized he was ranting, “You are just overthinking things and that’s all. I do understand that you worry about your kids, – and yes, you still can call them that, actually, we have a full right to call them kids even when they will be your age – and it obviously may be a little scary to see them growing up, getting into relationships and stuff, but this is totally normal, Minato”, she smiled fondly and reassuring at him. “The fact that Obito didn’t tell you about his crush on Kakashi doesn’t mean you’re a bad Sensei or that they don’t trust you. They all trust you with all their heart, Minato, you do remember who was there for them every time someone from them got sick or in any other kind of trouble? They came to you and keep coming every time they need some advice because they value you opinion and believe you. And they love you just as much as you love them. So you better stop panicking, dattebane! Being a teenager isn’t easy, you know, and remember my words, they will come to you for help not once, but sometimes they will need to think of something by themselves, to understand their own feelings and just figure some things out alone, you know. Just keep believing in your kids, Minato.”

Minato felt his eyes almost stinging and hugged his best girlfriend in the world tightly, asking her what he would do without her. She grinned which was by itself an obvious answer.

“Do you think Kakashi likes Obito back?”, she asked suddenly after a few minutes of silent hugging, causing Minato to snap his eyes open a bit worriedly.

“I don’t know.”

Kakashi wasn’t the easiest person to deal with, and he has never shown any kind of affection to someone. Or was Minato wrong? 

“I think you should keep a little bit closer eye in both boys.”

“But you just said I need to give them space for…”

“No, no, that’s not what I meant”, she gently broke the embrace, looking back into Minato's kind and anxious blue eyes. “I’m not saying you should push them to confess their feeling or something, I just suggest to look at them more closely, now you know what you need to pay attention to, you know? Everything will be alright.”

So Minato did. He became more attentive to some little things that he hadn't noticed before, but the problem now was that nothing was happening. The days passed one after another, and his children behaved quite normally. Even though he was happy that they - all three of them - as close to each other as best friends, inseparable, to say the least.

However, there were some tension after a couple of weeks, which he could not lose sight of. It took him a couple of days of careful observation of the students to understand what was happening. It was Kakashi. Kakashi was jealous.

Several Chunins and Jounins about the same age as his team had come to Konoha for a month as the Hokage required for some sort of a mission; they were ordinary teenagers, good ninjas, polite, smart, funny, and friendly. They got along well with Koketso, Raido, Gai , and the others, and Minato wouldn't have paid much attention to them if it wasn't for one incident.

It was not late in the evening, a light refreshing wind was blowing, and Minato's team was standing by a tree after training, talking quietly, when loud laughter and fervent negotiations interrupted them. Turning slightly at the sound, they saw Asuma, Kurenai, and several other teenagers who came from a nearby village. One of them, noticing Obito, smiled broadly and waved at him as they all were coming closer, greeting him sincere and kindly:

“Obito, hi! I’ve heard a lot about you”, and he really did. Asuma and Kurenai were telling about the other friends of theirs, saying not much of something concrete, but some silly or funny stories, of which everyone had the impression - quite correct one - of Obito as a really good person – open-minded, funny, easy-going, warm-hearted guy, so that is why one of the newcomers decided to get to know him better. But as he was slowly approaching to half-turned to them Obito, gleaming at him with bright eyes, he suddenly froze at the spot where he was standing and then a firm hand on his shoulder pulled him back a little. The team, now fully turned towards them, watched in mild confusion as the teenagers discussed something quickly but with focused faces, then when they finally finished, their faces looked more subdued than they had before; they briefly apologized, the guy from the other village timidly looked into Obito's eye, smiled guiltily, and looked away, allowing the others to practically drag themselves along. Obito wanted to shout after them and ask what was wrong, but a rotten, oppressive feeling in his chest made him say nothing. Engrossed in the thought of such a reason, he remained oblivious to what was happening with his team behind his back.

Kakashi, not changing his habit, all this time half-covered his face behind his book, but never for a second took his eyes off the guy. Rin felt it. Minato-Sensei definitely felt it. The killing intent. It was radiating around Kakashi with such power and murderousness that it was enough to make the theoretical enemy petrify with fear, yet all what Kakashi was doing is staring soundlessly at the new guy with a lone, half-closed – deceptively lazily – gray eye, though with a clear warning in it. Reminding he was The Copy Nin. Kakashi the Sharingan. And that others with any romantic intentions should stay the hell away from the man he was in love with. Was it selfish, not even mentioning that he wasn’t dating Obito yet? Well, Kakashi did not care at all and couldn’t do anything with his radiating jealousy. 

Kurenai was blaming herself. Telling stories about Obito, she did not assume that someone else might be interested in the young Uchiha, since she was mostly used to the fact that everyone knew that Kakashi was in love with Obito, and the latter, in turn, may have loved him back, although it wasn’t yet confirmed by anyone. But the fact remained that no one was going to mess this Kakashi. Fortunately, Asuma was the first to come to his senses, immediately catching a threatening, truly frightening aura, literally growling: don't you dare, and dragged the guy away before anything could happen.

But the kind-hearted innocent Obito didn't understand anything. He looked back at his team several times, noting that Kakashi was still reading his obscene book, and Rin and Minato-Sensei were looking back at him with slightly different but equally incomprehensible expressions on their faces. It made him irritated. And since the training time was over, he said a polite and hasty goodbye to everyone and headed home.

The evening weather was mesmerizing, Obito adored bright sunsets and often didn’t miss the opportunity to invite someone close to him to sit on the monument of one of the previous Hokage with some light snack, but it was Kakashi who for some reason always agreed when others most of the time referred for being busy. Although Hatake seemed reserved and taciturn, he probably enjoyed watching the setting sun as much as Obito, even though Uchiha didn't expect his teammate to not mind the company. In any case, such evenings were very pleasant.

Obito stopped when the person he was thinking about appeared on the road in front of him. With his hands in his pockets, Kakashi sauntered over to him.

“Yo”, he raised a hand in a greeting no matter they saw each other just like ten minutes ago.

“Kakashi”, Obito sounded a bit surprised, getting a little nervous inside, as it always was then he was left alone with him, “You need something?”

“Just wanted to check if everything is alright”, he shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. Obito frowned, embarrassed with himself for not being able to hide his stupid sadness. 

“Why do you care?”

Kakashi seemed ready for that question as he answered almost at the same time Obito’s question sounded.

“I’m the team leader”, he stated, “so I'm responsible for you and Rin, and I need to know what's causing your condition, because it's too obvious”, now it was Kakashi’s turn to blush with embarrassment because of such a blatant excuse, but to his surprise Obito looked convinced, as he pouted, averting his gaze from Hatake.

“Does it really that important?”, he tried for the last time. The firm respond got him sighing: “Yes.”

So Obito shifted uncomfortably, but for some reason feeling easy to share his thoughts with Kakashi, especially when he was visibly and attentively waiting for a respond.

“I was just- I know it’s silly, so you can just ignore it, but I was thinking about how that guy reacted. I mean, he seemed to willing to talk to me or something, and I don’t know what Asuma and Kurenai were telling him, but everyone saw how his face just fell, like, how he stopped himself as soon as i turned to him. So it kinda made me think of, you know, that my scars are much uglier than I thought, because otherwise I have no idea what could possibly cause such an immediate reaction.” Well, Kakashi had a pretty good idea. The guy noticed his gaze and just was caught off guard because of the incredible strength of his killing intent. “Anyway, don’t mind it, Bakashi. It’s not like it really matter since I can do nothing to fix my stupid face and…”

“No”, Kakashi trailed him off sharply before he could realize it.

“What?”, Obito asked, slightly confused.

“You’ re handsome and if that guy doesn’t’ think the same then he’s just stupid”, Kakashi started at how Obito froze and only then understood what he had just said. What he had just called him. “See you tomorrow”, Kakashi croaked weakly and left immediately. He was panting from a huge wave of anxiety and shock that was engulfing him, not knowing where his feet were leading his body, just needing a place to calm down while his wildly beating heart forced him to replay what he had said over and over again. He eventually found himself sitting on the grass, leaning against a tree near the training ground, still trying to catch his breath, but not because of running.

Suddenly two familiar and worried voiced reached his blurred hearing, and with an inaccurate vision he recognized kneeled near him Minato-Sensei and Rin who were observing him for injuries and asking what had happened. Kakashi understood that he probably looked like he was going through a mild panic attack, panting with the hunted, slightly frightened eyes.

“Kakashi, what’s wrong?”, Minato demanded, speaking with his stern, firm voice.

“I called Obito handsome”, he blurted out in a breath, and everyone around him just went completely silent.

“What?”, Minato asked, wondering if his kids will finally give him a heart attack or a premature gray hair one day. 

The moment they saw heavily breathing, pale - that it seemed like he was about to pass out any second – Kakashi, Minato didn’t hesitate a second rushing to his kid, being entirely sure something terrible has happened. Now he just blinked uncomprehending, trying to convince his heart to stop beating so fast.

Meanwhile Kakashi continued:

“He thought his scars were ugly because that guy left promptly and I said he’s handsome and left right after”, he breathed out, hiding his face with his hands, feeling like a total mess. He heard a slight chuckle, as if the person was trying to hide it, but not trying too hard anyway. Kakashi took a deep breath, lowered his hands and looked wearily at the wildly smiling Rin and the slightly confused Minato-Sensei who at least didn't look fully alert anymore.

“That’s not funny, Rin”, Kakashi sighed, defeated. He felt stupid and tried to understand why he even decided to share this so spontaneously? The problem still seemed urgent now, but it wasn't as bad as it felt just like five minutes ago. However, it was probably for the best, and besides, whom else could he tell it to but the closest people? Practically his family. It felt right even though a little strange - to share something so personal with other people.

“How did Obito react to this?”, to Kakashi’s surprise, Minato asked, now looking fully collected and understanding.

“I left him staring at me before he could say something”, he admitted uncomfortably. 

This time a light chuckle came from Minato, who was looking at his disciple with a tender and equally startled look. Minato was having a hard time accepting the fact how Kakashi's personality could vary. He was never a coward. Kakashi was never afraid of a single battle or enemy, always collected and restrained - the perfect ninja - always ready to sacrifice everything, even his own life, to save others. And right now, looking at the always so steadfast and unwavering leader of his teammates, Minato felt like he had just discovered a new side of his student. Another S-rank mission that requires incredible endurance and courage? Yes please. The slightest display of feelings for a person you like? Please no. 

“Well, I don’t think I can find a real problem here”, Rin said reassuringly, “of course, your decision to run away was far from the wise one, but this is Obito”, Minato observed his students with incomprehension because both of them looked like the last sentence explained everything.

“What do you mean?”, he risked asking.

“Obito is literally the densest person, Sensei. He never understands any of Kakashi’s poor attempts to get closer to him.”

“Rin!”, If Minato didn’t know any better he would say that Kakashi was pouting, looking somewhat exposed. Rin just sent him an apologetic smile, though the boy knew she was right.

For some time Minato remained silent. 

When Kakashi and Obito left after today’s training, he had a talk with Rin. Turned out she knew – just as most of others – about Kakashi’s feelings, but wasn’t sure about anything with Obito. After some negotiations they both came to the conclusion not to tell anyone about it – especially Kakashi – about Obito’s confession; he didn’t mean to say it out loud, so it would be none of their right to tell something so intimate about him to others. 

The next days passed quietly. After a while Kakashi decided to find that guy, intending to either apologize to him for that incident or mercilessly and honestly threaten his life and health - it depended on which direction the conversation was going. He found him in one of the small cafes. Young Jounin turned in his direction, looking confident and friendly.

“Hi”, he greeted openly, inviting Kakashi to sit in front of his on the empty spot, so he did wordlessly and deceptively nonchalantly. The boy was talking deliberately and slowly - he looked like a smart guy, “I remember you, Kakashi Hatake, right?”, Kakashi nodded, “My name is Neo Tagaki. I guess you wanted to talk to me about Obito?”

Kakashi didn’t answer, though the boy – Neo – wasn’t wrong, and he knew it.

“I will be honest with you, Hatake-san. I indeed did want to get closer to Obito, wanted to know him better; I believe you know better than me what kind of a person he is – kind, open-minded, strong, funny, right? But nevertheless now with the knowledge I have I no longer intend to interfere between you two”, he gave him a small sincere smile, “and I am not talking about that occasion a few days ago, even though it was unpleasant to say the least.”

“What do you mean then?”, asked Kakashi, not paying attention to Neo’s attempt to joke - he needed to hear the answer. Neo smirked.

“The Tagaki clan isn’t the most famous or a great one, but in my family we have one curious ability – we can see if someone is in love with someone”, he laughed a little at the disbelieving look and a slightly raised eyebrow on Kakashi’ face. “You may not believe me, Hatake-san, but this is true. It is not like our clan has more intuition or observation to determine such things, it is more like the actual ability - even against our will - to see if a person's heart is belong to someone or not. And in Obito's case, it really is. Deeply, passionately, sincerely. It is no question that he is already in love with someone, but, most likely, he does not even realize it yet. I had a small talk with him just yesterday, so I have no doubt in my statement now, even though Obito didn’t say much”, Neo observed Kakakshi’s thoughtful, stern face for a few seconds, then took a sip of a briefly abandoned cup of tea and sighed: “Can I give you one advice?”

Kakashi stared at him with less alertness and bias, showing that he was ready to listen to him.

“I know it’s none of my busyness but i would advise you to go for it. Tell Obito how you feel about him, because from what your friends told me, all that is continuing during several years already, and if you won’t do anything about it then the next years you will spend the same way, scaring away anyone who shows interest in Obito, while leaving him alone at the same time, because you are just as much afraid to confess to him. I'm sorry if you think I'm crossing the line, Hatake-sa...”

“Kakashi”, he cut off his words, “Just call me Kakashi”, Neo nodded, appreciating it. A few minutes passed in thoughtful silence.

“Well, I believe I have to go already, Kakashi-kun”, he smiled once again and stood up, while Kakashi raised himself simultaneously. 

“Neo-kun”, Kakashi called him, and the boy turned his head to him attentively, “Thank you. And I’m sorry for my behavior at the first day.”

“Don’t mind it!”, he waved a hand at him with his heart open, and left. 

Kakashi stood in the same place for a while, feeling many unintelligible emotions consuming him inside. It was a relief that this guy - Neo - was actually a rather prepossessing young man who also had no intention of interfering with their relationship with Obito; Kakashi sat down heavily at his seat at the table, scrolling the Neo’s words over and over in his head. How likely was it that Obito loved him if the guy’s words were true? After all, if Obito loves someone else, then it would be unbearable for Kakashi to admit his feelings to him. However, the uncertainty was too heavy. 

Kakashi raised his head sharply. Even though he didn't know what to do at the current moment, he knew exactly who he could go to, whose doors were always open for him. Thus, Kakashi found himself after about half an hour of doubts on the window frame of the Hokage's office.

Minato-Sensei turned to Kakashi with a kind smile, though a little exhausted from work - he immediately felt the approach of his chakra, and one glance at the young student's face was enough to admit that Kushina was right in her words.

“Kakashi”, he greeted him softly, watching the boy go down to the floor, habitually putting his hands in pockets and twitching his shoulders with barely perceptible indecision. “Is everything okay?”

“I wanted to talk to you, Minato-Sensei”, Kakashi said. “Do you have a minute?”

Actually Minato didn’t, but he agreed anyway. To anyone else he would have appointed the time and date depending on the importance of the conversation, but Kushina and his three children were the only exception on which he was willing to spend as much time as it needed and only they could still call him by name instead of the formal Hokage-sama. 

Indecision bound Kakashi's tongue with an iron grip, preventing him from speaking. And evidently it was noticeably enough because Minato raised himself from the office table and took a seat at the edge of the couch, looking expectantly at the teenager. For a split second, Kakashi allowed himself to notice how parental this act seemed, and how much space in Minato's heart was reserved for those closest to him. At such moments, Kakashi really felt that he was being cared for, that his condition was worried by someone with such attentiveness readiness to give him as much time and care as he needed. He experienced the same feeling only in early childhood, even before the tragedy occurred. With diligence Kakashi stifled any expression of inner pride or withdrawal, and simply allowed himself to sit next to Minato with ease in his soul and confidence in receiving support.

Over the next ten minutes he openly laid out to his Sensei what bothered him, succumbing to a dizzy tingling sensation throughout his body from adrenaline due to his unaccustomed habit of talking in so much detail about something as personal as intimate that he kept in himself a sufficient amount of time.

Minato looked thoughtful and focused for a while, absorbing Kakashi's words.

A one second panic threatened to knock his composure, indicating that perhaps he was the wrong person to give any relationship advice. Going frankly, he is not even entirely sure how he managed to achieve such a wonderful person like Kushina, but Kakashi - a person who rarely lets others know what is happening in his soul - came to him, asked for his help, advice, and Minato would curse himself if he didn't even try to help him. 

Kakashi was looking at him expectantly and patiently, waiting with trembling anxiety in his eyes for him to speak.

Minato took a deep sigh:

“I understand that this probably won't give you much certainty, but both Rin and I have some suspicions that Obito really likes you. And I think Neo really could be right that Obito doesn't fully understand his own feelings yet, or for some reason he is trying to suppress them. In this case, confessing could help greatly”, Minato continued his musing, when Kakashi's face was desperately trying to process the information he received, thinking through options and possibilities. “Maybe it shouldn’t be done right away, I believe it could take quite some time. It is good that you both are already pretty close, but, as you yourself probably thought about it, it is worth being more unambiguous in showing sympathy. Show him that you like him, do not rush at the same time, but go to the very end. Be that as it may, it helped me and Kushina, since we were both always frank in this regard”, Minato allowed himself a sly smile, looking at the slight blush on the student's cheeks. “You can try to subtly ask him if he likes someone, I'm sure that would give some clue. Or, if you are not ready to call him personally, you could write him a letter, where you would put everything that you feel about him, what do you think?”

Kakashi pursed his lips slightly and drawled musingly:

“That makes sense.”

“If you still feel uncertain, you can go to Kushina anytime, you know that, right? She has already returned from the mission, and I believe she might give you quite a better advice than I did”, Minato chuckled, contemporaneously awaiting for his response with significance.

“No. I mean, yes, I know I can talk to her if I’m in trouble, but I think I know what currently I should do. Thank you, Sensei”, Kakashi gave him a determined gaze, smiled gently and left through the window. 

Kakashi had no regrets at all that he turned to Sensei for help. On the way home the teenager burned with unprecedented determination, and a light, somewhat carefree laugh tried to slip out of Kakashi's mouth because of the stunning freedom and confidence in his next step.

The next day he lacked the same confidence in his actions. He came to the morning practice with his usual composure and Icha-Icha, briefly greeted Rin and Minato-Sensei, who gave him a curious look; leaned against a tree, feignedly running his eyes over the lines and counting the minutes until the inevitable.

Twenty minutes later Obito appeared, apologizing for being late in a more detached and superficial way. Minato immediately noticed that something was wrong with his student: it was felt that something was bothering him. Twenty minutes later, Obito appeared, apologizing for being late in a more detached and superficial way. Minato immediately noticed that something was wrong with his student: it seemed like something was bothering him. Minato tilted his head to the side, came a little closer, peering into the Uchiha's face, gazing him uneasily.

“Obito?”, he called, trusting his instincts unconditionally, “Did something happen?”

Obito made a grimace that was apparently meant to indicate his uncertainty about what had happened and scratched the back of his head. Then merely shrugged and said:

“I don’t know yet myself. I just received a strange letter this morning.”

Minato summoned all his composure and long experienced years as Jounin and Konoha Yellow Lightning to fight his instinctive urge to look at Kakashi. However, Minato was already smart and old enough to naively rely on coincidence.

“And what does it say?”, asked Rin warily, not aware of Minato’s last conversation with Kakashi. 

“Honestly, i think it was a threatening letter”, Obito said. There was a dead, thick silence for a few long moments. “I mean, I can’t say it for sure, but it’s hard for me to come up with any other explanation since there was no signature in the letter and just one curve-written sentence saying “you are a worthy ninja””, the Uchiha put his hands on his hips, his thoughts reflected with clarity on his face, “I mean, thank you, I guess, but seriously, what? Who in the world would send a letter like that? What do you think, Minato-Sensei?”

Minato currently was at loss of words. Oh dear Kami, Kakashi definitely needed some help. 

Of course, the need as a ninja to look for hidden meaning in everything and not rely on obvious guesses left the hope that the letter could, purely theoretically, be sent by someone else, but one glance at the Hatake was enough to snatch Minato's inner heavy sigh and a hopeless gaze at young student. Kakashi furiously hid his face behind his book, struggling, desperately trying to look calm when Minato could see how tense his shoulders were, how stiff his whole figure was, how easily his hand trembled in dismay. Poor Kakashi.

Minato ended up having to reassure Rin, since his vague promise that he would deal with it didn't satisfy her. She really was ready to step in and tear to pieces anyone who dared to threaten Obito; however, this was not a surprise.

“Oi, Bakashi, you don’t care at all, do you? Reading you pervert book even then I got my own creepy stalker with an intent to kill me, huh?”, Obito crossed his arms on the chest, sounding both scandalized and offended that Kakashi didn’t pay much attention to the situation. 

Minato turned to Kakashi with concern and dry mouth, inwardly sympathizing with him. The teenager took his hand with the book from his face - Minato noted the traces of blush, already almost invisible under the shadow of the foliage especially if you did not expect them to be there - and did everything in his power to sound even.

“I do care about you, Obito”, he said to everyone’s surprise with such a huge amount of firmness that even Obito jolted and glanced at him with observation, as if looking for something specific in Kakashi’s expression. “But I agree with Minato-Sensei, I don’t think it is something serious. You should rely on him too.”

Obito stirred a little and mumbled muffled “If you say so”, for a few seconds locking eyes with Kakashi and then furiously averting his gaze with a light blush a moment later. 

Of course, there was no need to continue training together. Kakashi was a Jоunin, just like Rin and Obito since recently. However, there was something familiar and connecting in this habit, with which none of the team wanted to be separated. Be that as it may, they would have devoted a decent amount of time to training anyway, even separately, but what was the point? There were thousands and thousands more unexplored jitsu that they could learn or just exercise together, while Minato himself was more than willing to help his children with everything he could. Therefore, training, as well as generally joint missions, continued.

When the allotted time came to an end, Minato dismissed his students, inwardly noticing with inner pride that with what a progressive speed they continue to develop.

“Kakashi, would you mind to linger for a few minutes?”, Minato saw something died inside simultaneously at the lone gray eye. Then he nodded, waving to his friends and stepped closer to the Sensei, trying to act nonchalantly. 

A minute passed as Minato was collecting his thoughts. 

“So”, he initiated, “worthy ninja?”

A great suffering glimpsed in Kakashi’s eye as he dropped his head in defeat and covered his forehead and half of his face with a hand; rubbed his hand down to his chin, leaving his eye closed and somewhat saddened. Minato was waiting patiently with a care expression. 

“I swear, I tried, Sensei”, Kakashi spoke finally, silently looking at Minato for guidance. “I was sitting and thinking of what to write for hours but everything what was coming to my mind seemed stupid and I- I panicked, I guess. And messed up again”, he sighed and felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. Minato smiled at him.

“That’s okay, Kakashi. I know it might be hard. By if I’m honest you were pretty persistent today, talking to Obito. That seemed like a good start. I think you know what you should do as well as know you can’t avoid it anymore, Kakashi.”

“I know”, Kakashi looked back at Minato’s blue and confident eyes, “I have to finally stop running away. It won’t lead to anything good anyway. I’ll tell him”, he said in a more quiet voice, but didn’t lack of resoluteness any longer. 

Kakashi tried to walk at ease, restraining the desire to rush as soon as possible, and all because some significant part of him said that he needed to act right now, without delay, before he had time to change his mind, but common sense argued that the confession - and that was exactly what he was going to do - must be attributed responsibly and measuredly; it was a significant step on which a lot depended, and the very thought of which prompted Kakashi to feel a fit of nausea with excitement and an incredible lightness that overshadowed everything else. He wanted to tell Obito so much. To hear his reply – no matter what it will be; to see his face, his smile.

Twilight was inevitably falling, their favorite time of day, and it gave him a kind of mystical sense of the correctness of what was happening. He approached Obito's house and knocked on the door abrupty, held his breath purely out of instinct, and waited, not allowing himself to blink for a second, until the door swung open. Obito looked a little disheveled - so homely. A wrinkled orange shirt, comfy black pants - part of the ninja's uniform — unkempt, matted black hair. Strong, elegant hands rubbed his sleepy face. Kakashi forgot what he was going to say.

“Kakashi?”, Obito questioned. “Why are you here?”, he stirred slightly, feeling uncertainty rising with every second of Kakashi's silence. The last words of Hatake flashed through the teenager's head - his compliment. The same modest compliment that kept the Uchiha awake all damn night, forcing him to toss and turn without sleep or rest, forcing him to wonder if he really had a chance? And now Kakashi stood in front of him again, looking strange - but not his usual weird. An offer to sit in a cafe and to talk caught the Uchiha by surprise, and his cheeks flushed. Either he really was finally losing his mind or it looked like a date. Obito did his best to accept the offer nonchalantly and calmly, because otherwise he would totally start ranting and blushing even more. 

The walk to their favorite cafe was ambiguous, sometimes they chatted and laughed, sometimes there was an awkward silence. At one of these moments, Obito threw a quick interested glance at Kakashi's hand - at some point he realized that the gray-haired ninja, contrary to his standard behavior, did not keep his hands in his pockets. A wild desire flashed through the Uchiha's heart to intertwine their fingers, but didn’t even allow himself to think about it; he had a solid idea of what reaction his friend would have - Kakashi would pull his hand away from him, frown, then raise one eyebrow, leaving Obito to mutter nonsense under his breath. It was a relief to finally take the usual places at the counter, ordering a glass of coffee.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Obito asked and leaned his elbows on the counter, giving Hatake a more observing look. To his surprise, Kakashi looked completely cornered, his eyes betraying the flames of uneasiness that Obito had learned to discern through the years of training and friendship.

Kakashi felt how his inner self wanted to scream. Did it mean that right now the moment had come when he just had to dump all his feelings on Obito? It would be so straight from the shoulder, in the middle of an uncrowded cafe, under the setting sun, when the eye of his best friend dug into his own, obviously expecting some kind of respond. 

Start from afar, Kakashi told himself, swallowing, just start from afar.

“So i wanted to talk to you”, Kakashi said and trailed himself off, with a dead inside glare staring at nothing, cursing himself for an inability to calm down.

Obito chuckled. 

“Well yeah, i got that part, but about what?”, he asked, wiggling his brows in a nonchalant and open-minded manner of him, “Or did you just call me out to have a look at my pretty face?”

Kakashi perked his head upwards acutely at the same moment, giving him some kind of a frightened gaze of disbelief and panic, and simultaneously Obito realized it was the wrong thing to say. He didn’t mean it, it was supposed to be an another silly joke of him in attempt to lighten up the atmosphere, but it came out sounding more like a mock because or Kakashi’s yesterday remark – his little compliment. 

“I-I mean”, Obito stuttered, hoping as hell that his confused expression was an enough confession that he didn’t imply to make fun of him – god, he would just never. 

“It’s not what i meant”, Kakashi suddenly breathed out, forgetting completely about his plan to confess his feelings, right now he was just trying desperately to save his dignity – and failing. 

“What?”

“About yesterday”, both teenagers thanked quietly the waitress as she served them their coffee, yet none of them was trying to take a sip of it, just warming fingers around the steaming cups.

“So”, Obito drawled thoughtfully and frowning, “you want to say you don’t think i’m handsome?”

What the fuck.

What kind of question even was that?! That wasn’t a question, Kakashi thought, it’s a trap, a trap, and what am supposed to say? The truth, Minato-Sensei’s voice popped up in his memory, and even if he will make the things even more awkward he would tell him everything. The moment he inhaled, somehow preparing himself to give everything away, the fate unexpectedly decided otherwise and made muffled chuckles and unintelligible quick negotiations from the far end of the café reach Kakashi’s hearing. He stumbled over what he wanted to give out, turned around, following Obito's gaze. At the very end of the cafe, at a table near the window were Rin and Anko, who instantly looked away, covering their mouth with a hand - Rin from embarrassment and Anko from giggling, completely shameless.

Kakashi, pale, as could be judged by the small part of the face around his only visible eye, turned to Obito, diligently pushing himself to continue breathing evenly, restraining the excitement, like a cobweb enveloping his hand, forcing it to tremble. He was a Jounin, the Copy Ninja, he can handle it. 

He caught his own sigh when he found Obito's uneasy eyes on him.

“You okay?”, he asked, leaning a little closer to take a better look. “Anko is always like that, don’t pay attention to it. Though, Jeez, it seems harder and harder to talk in private in that village, huh.”

“So what do you think about Neo?”, the gray-haired blurted, regaining some self-control, getting tired of his miserable attempts to have a normal conversation. 

“Huh?”, Obito tilted his head in mild confusion, “What about him? Well, he is a good guy, I guess, and from others were saying, a pretty talented ninja, right?”

“I’ve heard he asked you for a date”, Kakashi said, though knowing it wasn’t quite a truth, and straining his spine, doing his best to ignore intense glaring from behind. 

“What? Uh, well, not really. We’ve talked for a little bit, but nothing more”, he shrugged, “and he’s not my type anyway”, Obito wasn’t certain why he felt such a strong desire to add this.

“Who’s you type then?”, Kakashi asked, almost casually, noting for himself how far he have gone in such in intimate theme with Obito for the first time. His whole body was trembling lightly, waiting for a respond. 

Obito let himself get lost in his thoughts for a second. His type? He attempted to image what his perfect partner would look like – strong, caring, confident, but kind at the same time, smart, with a gray hair, always supportive and reliable, with one gray eye and… Oh, god.

Both teenagers barely managed not to startle, when a glass cup accidentally slipped down the farthest table, where Anko was still looking at them furtively and Rin was staring at the window, visibly wishing to disappear right at that moment.

“Hey”, Kakashi felt the gentle touch of someone's palm on his hand, looked up and froze at the glimpse of Obito's smile, who confidentially looked into his lone gray eye. “How about we go to our place, huh? Seems like we won’t be able to talk here normally anyway.”

Kakashi nodded slowly, mesmerized by Obito's face that was so, so close. Obito activated his Mangekyo, his chakra flashed for a moment in the cafe, and with a low, dull sound, both teenagers disappeared into another dimension, deliberately leaving the money for coffee. From afar, a frustrated sound of protest came vaguely, then an exhausted attempt to calm down a friend, and Kakashi, with a learned professionalism, ignored both of them, the next second finding himself with a poorly illuminated space, bottomless, filled with cubes, but next to his beloved person - at last truly in private. Obito put his hands on his hips, looking around contented as Kakashi clenched his fists in a surge of determination, took one deep breath and said:

“I was the one who wrote that letter.”

Immediately, Obito turned his full attention to him, staring at Hatake with wide eyes, trying his best to absorb the fact.

“Y-you?”, he stuttered, “What? B-but what did that mean? I guess, thank you? Because I would venture to suggest that it was not a threatening letter, but just your vaunted socializing skills? Sorry”, he chuckled nervously.

“I know. I- That’s not what I quite wanted to write.”

There was a short pause; Obito, as if enchanted and confused, gave him time to continue the thought, but spoke first when it became clear that Kakashi was not going to add something.

“So that letter… Can you tell me what you wanted to write? I mean- w-what did you want to say?”

The time stopped existing. Like in slow motion Obito heard his fast beating, poor heart, felt his palms getting incredulously sweaty, saw Kakashi opening his mouth acutely to breath out the words he had been keeping inside for too long.

“I wanted to say that i love you!”, Kakashi felt numb; he closed his eye abruptly, pushing yourself to go on until he had the strength to, until Obito said something. “I love you so badly that I can’t think straight when I’m near you, that I can’t stop thinking of you, that I want to be with you and be able to hold your hand, for years now”, Kakashi was juddering, which made Obito feel bad for his state, but yet he didn’t make any motion, still trying to comprehend, being in a deep shock right now.

“You love me?”, he finally whispered weakly, and Kakashi just nodded once again, still not finding himself strong enough to look at Obito. “But I- I always thought you can’t stand me.”

Right after the last word was sunken in Kakashi’s mind, the teenager’s eye snapped open, looking both confused and terrified. 

“I mean- I mean, like, you’ve always have been kinda avoiding me, despised of a thought of even touching me”, Obito embraced himself with one hand, not being able to hold the tears back. “I know, surely, the things got better, and all that, we somehow became closer, became friends, but yet I’ve never hazarded thinking of a possibility that you may like me back that way”, he saw Kakashi’s eyes widen even more, sticking to a certain phrase. “But i-”, Obito whispered, feeling like he’s exposing his heart not only to Kakashi, but to himself as well, telling the truth, “I feel the same. All the things you just told me… I feel the exact same way. I just believe I didn’t recognize it for so damn long, but… I really want to be with you. If you let me.”

Kakashi took one hesitant step forward, searching intently for Obito’s reaction, if he’s uncomfortable with it, but as he found none, took a few more warily steps forward and took his hands tenderly, looking at his eye now with a confident glimpse of fire.

“I’m sorry”, Kakashi whispered, looking guilty and vulnerable, “I’m sorry for making you feel and think that way. I believe I am really not good at showing emotions”, he tittered weakly, and Obito slowly, warily leaned his forehead against his, both teenagers with eyes closed, glowing inside and giving themselves some time. 

“Stupid Bakashi”, Obito smiled sincerely, feeling Kakashi’s breath on his face. “I’m so glad you told me. Otherwise I have no idea how much it would take us to get together”, he let out a little laugh, feeling finally free from an uneasy grab on his heart for years. 

The two teenagers slowly parted, looking at each other with tenderness and awkwardness at the same time; yet, for both, it all was new. Kakashi noticed that for a split second, Obito's eyes turned to some kind of memory, and then the young Uchiha chuckled as he raised his eyes to Hatake. He, in turn, bowed his head inquiringly.

“I was just thinking”, he drawled slyly, “you telling that you can’t think straight near me, was it your first pan ever, huh?”

Internally, on some subconscious level, Obito expected Kakashi to snap or withdraw into oneself, which caused a flash of anxiety to pierce his body, but Kakashi did something that made the butterflies in his stomach flutter, and blush appeared on his cheeks and ears. Kakashi let out his most sincere and open laugh, looking serene and glowing for the first time in a long time. At that moment, Obito realized that Kakashi could only snap back in such a situation as an eleven year old child, but now, being a teenager, he would never have snapped at Obito. They could tease each other, joke, but it never turned into something ugly or embittered. And even if he seemed aloof and reserved because of the excitement that held him down all this time, he never really hid from Obito, not from him.

Caught off guard, deep in musings, Obito suddenly felt the slightest peck on his cheek, and met worried face of Kakashi, though he eased than noticed that Obito didn’t mind, that he was smiling brightly. A few seconds of silence, and both fifteen year olds burst into the most carefree and happy laughter, still holding hands together.

After that, Kakashi reminded himself, he definitely needed to thank Minato-Sensei.

**Author's Note:**

> uh, i was thinking, like, if my previous fic can be some sort of a prequel? i hope you don't mind if i put the link here :P  
> https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/27206368


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